Hyderabad: Uber and Ola drivers complain that their earnings are coming down as the number of cabs on the roads increased.
“The Uber management is not paying us the promised Rs 13 per km. There are so many cabs on the roads. Out of 100 cabs, hardly one or two drivers get 11 trips a day. The managements offer an incentive — a Rs 4,000 business guarantee — for drivers, making 11 trips a day. But drivers alleged that only a few get the incentive, and this is used to attract more drivers on to the roads.
Then, there are conditions. If even one of those 11 trips is for less than 2 km, the incentive is not provided. “Sometimes, we get Rs 10 per km or even less. There are a few days when we get the promised Rs 13 per km, but Uber management does not clarify why we don’t get it regularly,” said A. Balachander (name changed).
Cab drivers said Uber takes 25 per cent on each bill paid by the passenger. Of this, 20 per cent is Uber commission and five per cent is service tax, although the passenger is charged 10 per cent service charge. Ola deducts 20 per cent of the total bill paid by the passenger as commission.
“We have to pay for diesel, car maintenance and pay EMIs on the car loans. A driver with either Uber or Ola earns about Rs 40,000 per month, but 70 per cent of the money goes for fuel, maintenance and loan repayment,” said driver K. Azeem (name changed).
Ola spokesperson Sowmithra Chand said earnings or the share paid to the driver cannot be disclosed. Uber Hyderabad general manager Siddharth Shanker said their business was transparent and even peak hour surge charges are applicable only when the passenger agrees to pay.
